News Release

San Francisco — The Maltese Falcon has fascinated generations of readers with its distinctive characters, its finely crafted literary technique and its vivid portrayal of San Francisco. In celebration of the 75th Anniversary of Dashiell Hamett's first novel, the San Francisco Public Library has planned an exhibition with rare, some never before displayed, items. The 65 items in the exhibit traces sources from Hammett’s real life and threads from his early fiction that he drew upon for his third novel. The exhibit also demonstrates how broadly the novel was disseminated to audiences throughout the world and the separate lives Hammett’s characters assumed in the movies, on radio, in newspapers and in advertisements. The exhibition will be on display from February 1 through March 31 on the Third Floor of the Main Library near the International Center.

The Library will also be welcoming Julie Rivett, Hammett's granddaughter, on February 24, 2005 to discuss The Maltese Falcon and its place in American culture. Rivett will be in discussion from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Koret Auditorium.

The Large Screen Videos at the Main Library will also pay tribute to Hammett by dedicating its March month long series to his career. The films will be shown every Thursday in March at noon in the Koret Auditorium. The scheduled films and their descriptions follow:

• March 3
• The Thin Man, (1934, 90 min.): First outing of Hammett’s crime thriller-comedy series stats William Powell and Myrna Loy.

• March 10
• The Maltese Falcon (1941, 101 min.): Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor and Peter Lorre stat in John John Huston’s classic film set in San Francisco.

• March 17
• The Glass Key (1942, 85 min.): Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake costar in this thriller based on Hammett’s novel

• March 24
• Dashiell Hammet: Detective, Writer (1999, 60 min.): The innovator of the hard-boiled detective novel is profiled in this American Masters program that traces Hammett’s colorful life, including his stint as an operative of the Pinkerton Detective Agency.

• March 31
• Julia (1977, 118 min.): Based on Lillian Hellman’s memoir Pentimento, Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave play lifelong friends caught up in the turmoil of war. Jason Robards plays Hammett, Hellman’s longtime lover.

Don’t miss this tribute to Hammett’s Maltese Falcon and to the city of San Francisco, which he captures brilliantly and unforgettably within each page of the American literary classic.

For more information on events at the Library, please call 415-557-4277 or visit www.sfpl.org. All programs at the Library are free and open to the public.